Three-quarters of American voters - 74 percent - like President Barack Obama as a person, but
only 47 percent like most of his policies, and voters disapprove 51 - 35 percent of the health care
overhaul passed by the House of Representatives which he has endorsed, according to a
Quinnipiac University national poll released today.

Obama's endorsement of the House of Representatives-passed health care plan makes no
difference to 44 percent of American voters, while 24 percent say it makes them view him more
favorably; 30 percent less favorably.

Voters favor 57 - 35 percent giving people the option of being covered by a government-
run health insurance plan, the "public option." Independent voters approve 55 - 39 percent. The
overall approval is down from 61 - 34 percent in an October 8 survey by the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. And they oppose two proposals to modify it:

Allowing states to opt out of the public option is a bad idea, voters say 49 - 43 percent;

Voters also oppose 47 - 38 percent the "trigger," where the public option kicks in only if
private insurance does not cover enough people.

Given four choices to describe their feelings about the President, American voters say:

46 percent like Obama as a person and like most of his policies;

28 percent like him as a person, but don't like most of his policies;

1 percent like his policies, but don't like him as a person;

20 percent don't like him or his policies.

"Most Americans like President Barack Obama and might like to have a beer with him,"
said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But millions
of voters who sided with him last November because they thought he would bring change to
Washington aren't crazy about the kind of change he is trying to bring."

"That is especially true of independent voters, many of whom used to be Republicans
turned off by the Bush years. They may not yet have returned to their former political home, but
many have concluded Obama isn't offering their kind of solutions," Brown added.

"The President's lower policy approval may be a warning sign for the White House that
they need to better align their programs with the views of the American people, or better explain
to the American people what they're trying to do."

The fall-off from Obama's personal likability to approval of his policies is greater among
independent voters, a group Obama carried in the election. Overall 28 percent of Americans say
they like Obama personally but not his policies, while 34 percent of independents feel that way.

"He may have won these independents last year, but he needs to do a better job
convincing them that he is offering policies that will benefit them," said Brown.

"The health care overhaul which passed the House 12 days ago gets a failing grade from
the American people and so does Obama on the issue," said Brown. "Independent voters
disapprove 59 - 35 percent of the President's handling of health care and disapprove 57 - 29
percent of the plan itself."

Overall, support for the plan drops as you go up the age and income scale, while the
gender gap is significant: men disapprove 56 - 33 percent while women disapprove 46 - 37
percent. There is a racial divide as well: 68 percent of African-Americans, 47 percent of
Hispanics and 29 percent of white voters support the health care plan.

While this survey has bad news for the President, the news for Republicans is worse:

Voters say 45 - 36 percent, including 40 - 37 percent among independents, that Obama is
better able to handle health care than congressional Republicans. In October, it was 47 - 31
percent in the President's favor.

Voters also say 59 - 29 percent that Republicans are not making a good faith effort to
work with Obama and the Democrats on health care.

A total of 61 percent of American voters say it is "very important" or "somewhat
important" that health care reform be approved this year.

From November 9 - 16, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,518 registered voters
nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201,
or follow us on Twitter.

2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are
handling their job?

5. Which one of the following statements comes closest to the way you feel about
Barack Obama - A) I like Barack Obama as a person and I also like most of his
policies B) I like Barack Obama as a person but I don't like most of his
policies C) I don't like Barack Obama as a person but I DO like most of his
policies OR D) I don't like Barack Obama as a person and I also don't like most
of his policies?

20. There is a proposal that would allow states to opt out of a public option -
that is it would be left up to each state to decide whether or not to give
people the option of being covered by a government health insurance plan. Do you
think that is a good idea or a bad idea?

21. Some have suggested that the creation of a public option should only be
triggered if the private market does not meet benchmarks to extend coverage to
all Americans. Do you think this is a good idea or a bad idea?

26. President Obama has pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our
federal budget deficit over the next decade. Do you think that President Obama
will be able to keep his promise or do you think any health care plan that
Congress passes and President Obama signs will add to the federal budget
deficit?

TREND: President Obama has pledged that health insurance reform will not add to
our federal budget deficit over the next decade. Do you think that President
Obama will be able to keep his promise or do you think any health care plan that
Congress passes and President Obama signs will add to the federal budget
deficit?